LELWD has won a state grant to reduce the impact of power outages by upgrading equipment in the distribution system. The $285,522 grant was recently awarded by the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center’s (MassCEC) Grants for Enhancing Grid Resilience and Reliability Program.

LELWD will use the grant to install six aging reclosers in its distribution system in Littleton and Boxborough. Reclosers isolate damaged sections of power line, shutting off electricity to the fault, and rerouting electricity around the fault to customers. These switches, in conjunction with sensors and software, turn a potentially large outage into a small, quickly resolved one.

“By upgrading the LELWD infrastructure, technology enables us to automatically isolate an outage by rerouting electricity around the trouble spot. This reduces the number of customers who lose power and helps crews quickly identify and fix the problem. We are grateful to MassCEC for providing this award and recognizing the work LELWD does to keep the lights on for our customers,” said Nick Lawler, P.E., General Manager of LELWD.

MassCEC awarded more than $8 million to seven municipal electric utilities and UMass-Amherst for projects to  strengthen the electric grid, reduce costly outages, and better protect residents from the impacts of extreme weather.

LELWD’s customers lost electricity for a total of 30 minutes on average in 2024, compared to 149 minutes for consumers nationwide. The LELWD has been recognized for Excellence in Reliability for eight consecutive years by the American Public Power Association.

###